Tired
by ThatCheshireSmile
Summary: All Artemis wants to do is sleep. That's it. But of course Wally won't let her.


Hi guys! Thanks to everyone who reviewed my story. It really means a lot, and I'm really happy you liked it. Now this one is probably OOC, but this story is kind of set in the near future where Wally and Artemis are in a we-fight-like-cats-and-dogs-friendship. Either way, OOC or not, I hope you like it and please review! I need all the constructive criticism I can get!  
_

Artemis was laying on the couch at the Young Justice headquarters.

It was a Friday night, and she was cold and exhausted. She had gotten up at 5:30 all that week to get up for school, the one that was oh so far away from her house. Today, halfway to the bus stop, which was all the way across town, she realized that she had forgotten the project she had done. The one that counted for 1/4 of her overall grade. She ran back to the house, grabbed it, and had to sprint back to the bus stop, just in time to be yelled at the cranky driver for being late. After she actually got to school, she had to take four tests (two of which she failed to study for), and deal with all of the rich, stuck up snobs.

When the last bell finally rang at 2:45, Artemis (actually dizzy from relief) came to the base for a mandatory two hour training session. She had gotten paired up with Wally, much to her dismay, and for one hundred twenty minutes she had to see his stupid, smiling face pop into her view whenever he got in a particularly good hit. Of course, that grin was wiped straight off when she would retaliate, twice as hard, and that, at least, gave her some satisfaction.

And last but not least, she had a massive amount of homework to do. Her chemistry teacher alone assigned 3 pages of review problems, on top of a chapter reading. She couldn't do it Saturday or Sunday, because those two days were split between training and an extra long mission, so she had to do it that night.

So there she was, Friday at 9:23 PM, completely and totally spent. The training was over, her homework was finished, and all she wanted to do was go to sleep and wake up next year. Preferably warmer. Artemis shivered and grabbed a blanket; it felt like she was in a freezer. She was going to have to talk to M'gann about that. Just because she was from Mars didn't mean the rest of them were.

Curled up in a ball with a blanket on the corner of the couch, her loose hair still damp from the shower she just took, Artemis flipped though the channels with the remote, hardly noticing (well, more like hardly caring) that her eyelids started to flutter close. She just wanted to rest her eyes. They felt so _heavy_ all of a sudden.

'Just for a minute… 'she thought to herself.

She was just starting to drift off to sleep when-

"What's up, Ice Queen?" Wally said loudly as he vaulted himself over the couch. He quickly grabbed the remote from her still limp hand and started surfing the channels.

Artemis jolted awake, blinking rapidly until she realized what had just startled her. Once she spotted him-it- in all his ginger glory, she narrowed her eyes. She was freaking tired. And cold. And now, thanks to Wally, severely pissed. And did she mention she was tired?

All she want to do was relax. And she'd be damned if she let Kid Ass rob her of her one and only wish.

"What the hell?" Artemis exclaimed, making a grab for the remote. She figured she looked like death all warmed over, thinking about the heavy bags under her eyes and her teeth bared in a snarl. Good. Maybe the sight of her will just scare him into submission. Unfortunately, it did not.

"Ah, ah, ah, what's the magic word?" he said jerking his hand away, all the while smiling that stupid grin of his. She just wanted to smack it right off his stupid face.

Artemis was clearly feeling a little more belligerent than usual.

"How about give-me-the-freaking-remote-or-I'm-going-to-kick-your-ass?" she said through gritted teeth.

Wally pretended to contemplate this for a minute. "Nah, that's not it." He grinned once again and turned his attention back to the T.V.

At this point Artemis was shaking with fury. It wasn't even that she was watching something, because truthfully, she wasn't. But the mere nerve, the audacity, of him to waltz in here and grab the remote, like he owned the television. No chance in Hell she would let him have it without a fight.

"Aurgh!" Artemis launched herself at Wally, hands clenching as she tried to grab the device from his hands. But, true to his name, his hand disappeared in a flash, taking the remote with it.

"Too slow, Arty." he said as he shook the remote high above his head.

Artemis closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. She would not kill him. She would not kill him She would not. She would not. She would not. She repeated these words like a mantra in her head.

Opening her eyes, she looked at Wally's smug face.

"Give. Me. The remote." she said while holding her hand out. She was done playing this game.

"Now why would I do something like that?" He was enjoying this. That little…

"Because I said so!" she shrieked. So much for being done with the game. Artemis once again made a grab for the remote, this time shifting onto her knees. Wally was quick to react, and held the remote father away from her. She lunged forward, almost crawling onto his lap, her fingers just inches from it.

"Why do you always have to be such an idiot!" she screamed, and this time she did crawl onto his lap. Straddling him, focused on her prize, she didn't notice the precarious position she had just gotten herself in. Her was chest pressed against his, their hips snug against each other, but Artemis did not care. All she wanted was that remote.

Wally was suddenly still, so still he could have just been part of the furniture. Once again, she did not notice. She was now within reaching distance of the remote.

"Ha!" she cried triumphantly as she grabbed it, not realizing that Wally had stopped struggling. She was just about to brag about her victory when she finally realized where she was sitting. And who she was sitting on.

Eyes wide, Artemis slowly lowered her gaze to Wally's.

His face was starting to turn red, and Artemis knew the blood rushing to hers as well. She could feel his hand that wasn't holding the remote resting lightly on her side, the warmth radiating through her shirt. (Why was he so warm? Was he sick or something? Not that she cared, of course. She just…She doesn't want to get sick, is all.) Somehow, the blanket had snaked its way around them both. Their faces were just a few inches away from each others. She could feel his breath on her face, and his lap really wasn't all that uncomfortable to sit o-

Suddenly clearing her throat, Artemis jumped off Wally and gave a fake smile, taking her blanket with her.

"Now who's too slow?"

She started to flip through the channels while Wally recovered.

"Ha. Yeah right. If I wanted to, I could steal that remote and run halfway to China before you would even realize that it was gone." he said while giving a cocky little smirk.

"Please. You couldn't even do that in your dreams." The smirk dropped from his face, as one popped up on hers. Artemis didn't even have to look at him to know he was now scowling. She finally settled on a channel.

"Is that a challenge?"

"No, thats a fact. "

Wally was fuming. "You know what? Why don't you just-"

"Save it, Wally." Artemis interrupted. She really didn't feel like putting up with him right now, especially now that she'd gotten the remote back. "I'm too tired to argue with you and your insane theories."

"Hey!" he protested. "They're not insane! I could so do it." he finished, mumbling.

"Whatever." Sighing, Artemis once again returned to her previous position at the end of the couch. Now that she was fully awake though, it had somewhat lost its appeal. Curling her legs up against herself, all she really wanted to do was straighten them out. But if she were to do that, her feet would land on top of a certain red haired speedster. And that was definitely not happening.

Artemis started watching the show she had picked, shifting her position frequently. Every few seconds she would switch. Turn this way. Turn that way. Turn to the right. Turn to the left. Her muscles were screaming in protest, her legs not liking being curled up so close. And that nasty bruise on her upper thigh given to her by Black Canary was throbbing.

She shifted once more and she heard Wally sigh pointedly. Maybe she had been moving more than she had thought.

Determined not to move anymore, Artemis put her arms around her knees and clasped her hands together. There. Now she wouldn't move.

But…she really wanted to. Just a little bit. The armrest was digging into her shoulder, and her legs were _really_ hurting. Maybe she would just stretch them out just a tiny bit…

Artemis carefully let go of her hands and looked at Wally. He was immersed in the show that he was watching. Good.

She casually started to slide her feet forward, just a little bit at a time, watching for any sign of acknowledgement from Wally. He didn't even blink.

Oh. That felt better. Now she just had to...

Placing her hands on either side of her on the couch, Artemis tried to hoist herself up without jostling the couch too much. She was just starting to turn when Wally spoke up.

"You can stop trying to be so sneaky. I can still feel you moving." Wally said, not even sparing a glance in Artemis' direction. She huffed and plopped back down on the couch.

"Well maybe if you weren't sprawled out across the whole couch, I wouldn't have to keep moving in the first place." she said angrily. And it was true. Arms resting across the back of the couch, legs spread wide, Wally easily took up 2/3 of the couch.

He just looked at her for a second, and his eyes seemed to be asking 'Are you serious?'. He leaned across the couch and grabbed her feet, straightening out her legs. Now her feet rested on his lap.

"Wow. That was so hard." he said, rolling his eyes. Then he turned his attention back to the television.

Artemis was speechless. Why would he do that? He was so…ugh! She didn't want her feet on his lap! He was probably diseased! Okay, maybe not diseased but still. No part of her should ever be touching him! She ought to use the new position of her legs to kick him in the face.

But…

Artemis really was very comfortable. She grudgingly thought about how much better this felt. Now that her legs weren't cramped up, that bruise wasn't bothering her. And her calves were practically sighing in relief.

Maybe she would stay there. Just for a little while.

The armrest was actually starting to look as if it had a purpose, now that she was all sprawled out. Sliding lower down on the couch and adjusting her blanket, Artemis moved her feet a little on Wally's lap, looking at him to see if he would say anything. He just glanced at her for a brief second, but did not say a word. She smiled to herself. Now the armrest could serve as her pillow.

Artemis laid her head down and let out a sigh of relief. _This _was comfortable. The blanket was fuzzy and her shirt was soft and the armrest was surprisingly cushiony. And although she would never admit it, she very much enjoyed having her feet in Wally's lap. The blanket was tangled and covered every part of her except her feet, so her toes, clad in her green socks, rested lightly against Wally's stomach. He was surprisingly warm. Too warm actually; she didn't think it was possible to be that warm, unless you were running a temperature.

Artemis cracked open an eye. He looked okay. She hoped he was, for her sake at least. The last thing she needed was to get sick. And from Wally, no less. Who knew what kind of germs he had.

Regardless of the cause, it still felt amazing to her frozen toes. His T-shirt did nothing to bottle in his heat, seeing as it was paper thin. It was so worn and had been washed so many times that there was a tiny hole at the hem, and if she looked hard enough, she could just see some freckles trailing down his stomach…

Clearing her throat, Artemis expelled that thought from her mind, she turned her attention back to the television and started watching the show. She was steadily becoming more and more tired, but she ignored it. Strangely, she was enjoying this entire situation. Her. Wally. The television. His lap. It was all oddly…nice. Not that she'd ever admit that. Ever.

She was suddenly snapped out of these thoughts by none other than Wally.

Unconsciously, or so she thought, Wally had shifted and placed his hand on top of Artemis' bare ankle, his thumb rubbing small circles on the skin there. He seemed completely absorbed in the television program and unaware of his actions.

The more stubborn side of Artemis insisted that she knock his hand off and demand what he thought he was doing. But the other, slightly less stubborn side of Artemis asked her what the harm was. And really, what was the harm? He looked as if he didn't know he was doing it, and it did feel really nice. Mmmm… he really _was _warm. Must be a metabolism thing.

Deciding to just let him keep doing it (she must really, really be tired), she laid her head back down on the arm rest. Every once in a while Wally would jostle her legs, laughing when something funny was on the television, but his hands never faltered.

Artemis was almost purring. With a content sigh, her eyes finally slid close all the way. And because of this, Artemis didn't notice the soft, almost tender look Wally sent her way.


End file.
